Introducing: the JWIT

By Ariella Levine, October 14, 2013

Ariella Levine: Ain't no regular wifey, she's a JWIT

For those of you who think you have not yet encountered a JWIT, let me explain. A JWIT is a Jewish Wife In Training. We are young, ambitious women who strive for all round perfection, are inherently fabulous and are, of course, always on the look out for a JH (Jewish husband).

We tend to be known and recognized for our exceptional cooking, our impressive collection of this season’s Top Shop collection and in the rare instance of a dried out roast chicken, the occasional bout of hysteria. Being a JWIT isn’t easy but when the pressures and commitments of student life are thrown into the mix only the strongest will survive.

There are many concerns for a JWIT starting university. Firstly, having a room with an en-suite. Secondly, whether any of the boys on the football team are Jewish. Thirdly, the proximity of Marks and Spencer to her university halls. Finally, how she will simultaneously claim her position at the top of the social ladder, achieve a first class degree and become President of the Jewish Society all in the space of three years.

Unfortunately, as the hangover of Freshers’ Week begins to wear off, it transpires that this is a tough gig. Isn’t it a shame that PPE doesn’t stand for Prosecco, Purging and El-Al? If, like myself, you consider yourself a JWIT and suddenly find that you are thrust into an unfamiliar world of lacrosse, shared showers and microwavable ready meals, my advice to you is DON’T PANIC.

When you are lying in your single bed wearing your winter coat, the days of family Friday night dinners and frozen yoghurt can seem a distant memory and the likelihood of maintaining the straightness of your hair can seem terrifyingly dismal. Even your Shellac manicure has begun to chip!

Isn’t it a shame that PPE doesn’t stand for Prosecco, Purging and EL-AL?

However, despite our high maintenance tendencies and even higher heels, JWIT’s are tougher than we look. So even campus appears devoid of JHs, or you are reduced to tears by what you still believe to be an unfairly harsh critique of your first essay, JWITs march (totter?) on.

There is no better source of inspiration than one of the JWIT’s ultimate role models: Elle Woods. Ok so she was a W.A.S.P, not a J.W.I.T, but our divergent opinions on hummous aside, we have a lot in common. We share her love for bunny costumes and her complete indiscretion when it comes to anything pink. Most importantly, however, a JWIT, like Miss Woods, never loses confidence in her own ability to succeed.

The only way for a JWIT to survive at university is to take a trip out of your comfort zone, learn to cook pasta in the microwave, and embrace the ‘student life’, because remember you won’t be a student forever, but you will always be a JWIT.

Ariella Levine, 21, is in her third year of reading Politics at the University of Bristol. She was born and raised in north London (with a short stint in Minnesota, U.S.A and Montreal, Canada). Apart from being a JWIT (which is a big commitment) she is on the committee of Burst Radio, University of Bristol’s radio station, and aspires to a career in broadcast Journalism. Hobbies include: frozen yoghurt, writing her blog, and being fabulous.